I have a male desert tortoise who I was told is about 5, I suspect he may be older but I am unsure. Anyway I measured the length of the top of his shell and it was just under 9 inches. Is he done growing? I was told by the rescue that he is about full grown. I will include some pics
Our little girl is about 20 and she isn't much bigger than that. Desert Tortoises do continue to grow; but their growth slows down as they age. By the time that they reach maturity they grow very slowly. Remember, the larger an animal gets the more food it needs to sustain healthly life. In the wild, food is often very scarce and a tortoise may use up a lot of energy wandering to find its next meal. Nature compensates by limiting growth of older tortoises.